Possible MCE convert but have questions/concerns

[crarbo1]

Hello,
I'm considering converting to Sage TV from MCE 2005 and have a few questions and concerns. My concerns are if I should just give up on the MCE altogether and go to Comcast's PVR or not. The reason that I say this is because of what was made aware of in the thread labeled "Comcast: All digital in 20% of markets by year's end" on this forum. As you could guess, I have Comcast and am worried that I will have to start using their boxes. Right now, I have expanded basic cable, which gives me about 60 Analog channels that I use MCE 2005 for. I can, with my HDTV, tune in all of their unencrypted QAM channels. I can do all of this without using their converter box. That is how I want to continue doing it but I'm afraid that it may not be possible with Comcast after 2010. Can anyone shed any more light on this subject?

Now about my possible conversion to Sage TV.
Is there any advantage to using the client software on a PC as opposed to buying the HD extender?
I have a Windows Home Server that I would eventually migrate my Sage TV to but I don't see any pricing on the software for the WHS. I may be overlooking it but does anyone know how much it is, or direct me to the page that shows it?
In the end, I would like to have this setup: Sage TV on my WHS, two HD Homruns, and either 3 PC's running client software or 3 HD extenders's. Is this doable with my WHS that has a 2.0 GHz dual core processor? I was a little confused becuase on the site it said something about needing a 3 GHz processor for HD playback. I assumed that mean a single core 3 GHz processor but I want to make sure.
I would run all of this on a Gigabit network but it appears that the HD Extenders only offer 100 Mbit. Will this be a problem in my setup?

That's all for now.

Thanks for any relplies to my questions,
Chuck

[Brent]

Originally Posted by crarbo1

Hello,
I'm considering converting to Sage TV from MCE 2005 and have a few questions and concerns. My concerns are if I should just give up on the MCE altogether and go to Comcast's PVR or not. The reason that I say this is because of what was made aware of in the thread labeled "Comcast: All digital in 20% of markets by year's end" on this forum. As you could guess, I have Comcast and am worried that I will have to start using their boxes. Right now, I have expanded basic cable, which gives me about 60 Analog channels that I use MCE 2005 for. I can, with my HDTV, tune in all of their unencrypted QAM channels. I can do all of this without using their converter box. That is how I want to continue doing it but I'm afraid that it may not be possible with Comcast after 2010. Can anyone shed any more light on this subject?

That will be an issue for you if Comcast does go all digital. Its something most cable companies are slowing moving towards. The only solutions for that are using a cable box, buying a new CableCard VMC PC, or the best solution: using the HD-PVR with cable box.

Now about my possible conversion to Sage TV.
Is there any advantage to using the client software on a PC as opposed to buying the HD extender?

A PC with SageTV Client can do Netflix WatchNow and Pandora Radio (without hacks) while a HD extender cannot. The HD extender has no active USB and no physical DVD drive. Other than that I would say the extender is a better option. I have one HD100 with another on the way which will give me 2 HD100's and one HTPC client.

I have a Windows Home Server that I would eventually migrate my Sage TV to but I don't see any pricing on the software for the WHS. I may be overlooking it but does anyone know how much it is, or direct me to the page that shows it?

I think you buy the SageTV Media Center product (same price as XP, Vista etc version) and then download the WHS version here. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here.

In the end, I would like to have this setup: Sage TV on my WHS, two HD Homruns, and either 3 PC's running client software or 3 HD extenders's. Is this doable with my WHS that has a 2.0 GHz dual core processor? I was a little confused becuase on the site it said something about needing a 3 GHz processor for HD playback. I assumed that mean a single core 3 GHz processor but I want to make sure.
I would run all of this on a Gigabit network but it appears that the HD Extenders only offer 100 Mbit. Will this be a problem in my setup?

That setup would work fine - yes your processor should be plenty powerful.

[bcjenkins]

ALL DIGITAL != PVR-500 Obsolescence. The PVR 500 has Svideo and composite inputs which will take a feed from a cheaper (monthly fee) box vs. a Comcast PVR box. All digital simply means Comcast will not be sending a tunable analog signal on the wire.

HIH

B

[crarbo1]

Brent,
Thanks for your replies. See my follow up items under your quotes.

Originally Posted by Brent

That will be an issue for you if Comcast does go all digital. Its something most cable companies are slowing moving towards. The only solutions for that are using a cable box, buying a new CableCard VMC PC, or the best solution: using the HD-PVR with cable box.

I know that they will eventually go all digital but I wonder if if they plan on leaving the expanded basic in unencrypted clear QAM or not? I'm sure this is something that you can't answer but I thought I would at least see.

Originally Posted by Brent

A PC with SageTV Client can do Netflix WatchNow and Pandora Radio (without hacks) while a HD extender cannot. The HD extender has no active USB and no physical DVD drive. Other than that I would say the extender is a better option. I have one HD100 with another on the way which will give me 2 HD100's and one HTPC client.

Thanks for the heads up on that. I'm not currently aware of those two items but I will research them and see if they are wanted or not. That will help me decide.

Originally Posted by Brent

I think you buy the SageTV Media Center product (same price as XP, Vista etc version) and then download the WHS version here. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here.

You are probably correct. I just figured that it would be a separate purchase, even if it was the same price.

Originally Posted by Brent

That setup would work fine - yes your processor should be plenty powerful.

Thanks for that info. That was worried me a little.

My ultimate goal is not to have a set top box but be able to get the digital channels that Comcast provides. I don't want to lay down the money involed to do a complete switch to have it rendered, for the most part, useless in less that two years. I may wait a while to see if more info comes out on the plans. I am aware that even it Comcast initially offers expanded basic in unencrypted clear QAM they could, at any time, encrypt everything. So, I guess it might futile to worry about this now.

Thanks,
Chuck

[crarbo1]

bcjenkins,
Thanks for the reply. I figured I could get the set top boxs and use one for each of my tuners but I don't want to have 4 set top boxes. I know that all digital means there will be no analog signal but I wanted to know how they plan on sending the digital feed for suscribers that don't need a box now. I have expanded basic cable and don't need a box. If they send it in clear QAM like they are currently doing for some channels, then all will be well if I get two HD Homrun's. If they encrypt all channels then I'm out of luck with not have a set top box and may as well go to satellite. I was hoping that someone may have a few answers for me before I decide to stay with what I have, switch to Sage TV, or jump ship now and get satellite.

Thanks,
Chuck

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

ALL DIGITAL != PVR-500 Obsolescence. The PVR 500 has Svideo and composite inputs which will take a feed from a cheaper (monthly fee) box vs. a Comcast PVR box. All digital simply means Comcast will not be sending a tunable analog signal on the wire.

HIH

B

[bcjenkins]

It depends on what you want to do with all the TV you record. If you want to watch it on one TV and not pull it off for portable (iPod), share it throughout the house to other TVs, etc., then you probably don't need SageTV.

For me, it was multi TV support and more than 2 SD tuners which got me to jump ship in 2006 from MCE. Now, I would say the best reasons are central repository for all media in my family, comskip, and HD Extenders. Recently the addition of HD PVR was icing on the cake as I can now watch the HD versions of favorite shows, but had made a decision it was lower on the priority than the aforementioned.

HIH

B

PS - QAM enabled lineup seems to vary by cable franchise, even within the same company. I would recommend that you write your local cable commission and let them know that you feel as if you're being forced into a monthly fee.

[crarbo1]

Like my initial post states, I want to record on one central location and then use extenders or client PC's to view from 3 locations in my home. I don't need the portable features, just the normal TV features. I currently have MCE but based on Sage TV's features and customization, I'm really tempted to switch.

What is the advantage of the HD PVR you speak of? Not familiar with that.

Like you suggest, I will probably email Comcast to try to get their answer about all of this, but I don't expect to get a reply. That is why I came here first.

Thanks again for your input,
Chuck

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

It depends on what you want to do with all the TV you record. If you want to watch it on one TV and not pull it off for portable (iPod), share it throughout the house to other TVs, etc., then you probably don't need SageTV.

For me, it was multi TV support and more than 2 SD tuners which got me to jump ship in 2006 from MCE. Now, I would say the best reasons are central repository for all media in my family, comskip, and HD Extenders. Recently the addition of HD PVR was icing on the cake as I can now watch the HD versions of favorite shows, but had made a decision it was lower on the priority than the aforementioned.

HIH

B

PS - QAM enabled lineup seems to vary by cable franchise, even within the same company. I would recommend that you write your local cable commission and let them know that you feel as if you're being forced into a monthly fee.

[mikejaner]

What is the advantage of the HD PVR you speak of? Not familiar with that.

The HDPVR is an external USB2 tuner box made by Hauppauge. It has a Component, Svideo, and Composite inputs, along with analog and optical audio inputs, and can record Standard Definition, and High Definition TV content up to 1080i. The video format it saves your files in is h.264 which is one of the latest MPEG4 based codecs which supports high definition.

[crarbo1]

Thanks for the explanation. Is there an advantage of using this device over the HD Homerun?

Since you mention codecs, I have a question. Are there special codecs that I would need to get to make Sage TV work on with either XP MCE 2005, XP Pro, or Vista Home Premium?

Thanks,
Chuck

Originally Posted by mikejaner

The HDPVR is an external USB2 tuner box made by Hauppauge. It has a Component, Svideo, and Composite inputs, along with analog and optical audio inputs, and can record Standard Definition, and High Definition TV content up to 1080i. The video format it saves your files in is h.264 which is one of the latest MPEG4 based codecs which supports high definition.

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by crarbo1

Thanks for the explanation. Is there an advantage of using this device over the HD Homerun?

It "works" for encrypted channels... Of course you have to have a cable-box to hook it up to. HD Homerun is far superior if you have unencrypted QAM or OTA needs. The uncertain future applies to both devices in different ways: HDHR worries about encrypted QAM, HD-PVR worries about analog outputs being disabled.

[crarbo1]

Thanks for the clarification.

Originally Posted by Slipshod

It "works" for encrypted channels... Of course you have to have a cable-box to hook it up to. HD Homerun is far superior if you have unencrypted QAM or OTA needs. The uncertain future applies to both devices in different ways: HDHR worries about encrypted QAM, HD-PVR worries about analog outputs being disabled.

[crarbo1]

I have a question about the HD extenders. I'm assuming, and maybe incorrectly, that it comes with a license with I buy it. Is that true?

Thanks,
Chuck

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by crarbo1

I have a question about the HD extenders. I'm assuming, and maybe incorrectly, that it comes with a license with I buy it. Is that true?

Yes -- as it says in its description for the HD100 in the SageTV store, it includes the license it needs. You still need a license for the SageTV server, or the bundle with the HD100 + server license.

- Andy

[crarbo1]

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure how I missed that when I originally looked at it.

Thanks for making me look harder,
Chuck

Originally Posted by Opus4

Yes -- as it says in its description for the HD100 in the SageTV store, it includes the license it needs. You still need a license for the SageTV server, or the bundle with the HD100 + server license.

- Andy